System and Method for Providing Wardrobe Assistance

ABSTRACT

A system and method for suggesting clothing options based on one or more of weather, geographic location, social network friend suggestions, community suggestions, user&#39;s wardrobe, and event or dress code is provided. The system and method is preferably implemented by a web based social network community and website. Furthermore, the system and method can assist is shopping an trading of wardrobe items.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application claims priority to and benefit of U.S. ProvisionalPatent Application No. 61/417,145, filed Nov. 24, 2010 and entitled“Social Network Web-site to Suggest What to Wear”, the disclosure ofwhich is incorporated by reference herein in its entirety.

BACKGROUND

The problem of what to wear to a particular function, event, meeting orlocation (e.g. the workplace, restaurants or parties) is a question thateveryone deals with daily. For example, the particular function could begoing to work or school every day, having an outdoor lunch or a formalparty. The way most of people decide this now is by checking theweather, asking friends for suggestions, finding out what everyone elseis wearing to the particular event or by browsing through fashionwebsites and magazines to get a feel of what is popular for particularfunctions. Thus, the clothing chosen is dependent on the latest productsfrom the vendors, weather, location, dress code and suggestions fromothers.

For example, deciding “what to wear?” is one of the first questions thatcomes to mind every morning. People struggle to find the latest fashiontrends and often browse through several websites to find the latestideas. Currently there are few viable solutions to assist people inobtaining and implementing a wardrobe that provides clothing options fora broad spectrum of uses. What is needed is a system and method thatprovides users with what they should wear depending on weatherconditions, event and suggestions from friends or professional advisorsin a user's social network.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

In view of the foregoing limitations, associated with the use oftraditional technology, a method and a system is presented forsuggesting clothing options to users. Accordingly, the present inventionprovides a system and method for suggesting clothing options to usersbased on a variety or criteria further described herein.

Accordingly in an aspect of the present invention, a system and methodfor suggesting clothing options based on one or more of weather,geographic location, social network friend suggestions, communitysuggestions, user's wardrobe, and event or dress code. In a furtheraspect this includes a web based community and website to implement thesystem and method.

In a further aspect of the present invention, an algorithm (sometimesreferred to as the “Suggestion Algorithm”) determines the fashionproduct (e.g. shirt blouse, pants, skirt, dress or other clothing, oraccessories such as footwear, headwear, glasses, gloves or jewelry) tosuggest based on one or more of the following: weather, zip code orother geographic indicia of the event location, suggestions from friendsin the user's network, the latest fashion products added by the usercommunity of the website, the user's wardrobe, if maintained online onthe website, and the type of event or dress code for an occasion.

In another aspect of the present invention, users may setup their ownwardrobe on the website and receive suggestions from both their wardrobeand a database of products.

In yet another aspect of the present invention, users may obtainsuggestions on proposed outfits or their wardrobes from friends whichare also members of a social network community implementing aspects ofthe present invention.

In a still further aspect of the present invention, users are able topurchase clothing and accessories suggested by the website from eitheranother online retailer or the website itself.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 demonstrates an exemplary suggestion matrix table which is usedto determine what to suggest to the user.

FIG. 2 demonstrates an exemplary latest color table which is used todetermine the latest color(s) in fashion for a particular category offashion product.

FIG. 3 demonstrates an exemplary latest material table which is used todetermine the latest textile or other material(s) for the fashionproduct. Example: During summer the latest material table will containmaterials like cotton, linen for a category “men-top-shirts/tees”.

FIG. 4 demonstrates an exemplary latest style table which is used todetermine the latest style for the particular category of fashionproduct.

FIG. 5 is a demonstration of an algorithm in pseudo code to create asuggestion list for the user.

FIGS. 6A and B are flow charts of methods of the present invention formaking suggestions to the user.

FIG. 7 demonstrates an exemplary home page for user registration and anexemplary get suggestion function for a non-registered user.

FIG. 8 is a demonstration of an exemplary user login process.

FIG. 9 is a demonstration of an exemplary user profile page on the site.

FIG. 10: is a demonstration of an exemplary way for administrators ofthe website to update information to the website.

FIG. 11 is a demonstration of an exemplary way for an administrator ofthe website to maintain the users.

FIG. 12 is a demonstration of an exemplary way of adding/removinganother user of the website as a user's friend.

FIG. 13 is a demonstration of an exemplary function allowing users tosend messages to other users of the site.

FIG. 14 is an exemplary demonstration of suggestions from the website,users friends suggestions and suggestions from a user wardrobe followedby user's friends activity.

FIG. 15 is an exemplary demonstration of user's latest activities,maintaining user events and favorite fashion brands.

FIG. 16 is an exemplary demonstration of an exemplary user wardrobe andmix/match function. Users of the website are able to upload, browse andmix/match wardrobe items to create an outfit.

FIG. 17 is an exemplary demonstration of how a user can mix/match fromsuggestions. The suggestions from the site, user's friends and user'swardrobe are displayed for user to mix/match and create an outfit

FIG. 18 is an exemplary demonstration of how a user can get quicksuggestions for a gender, zip code and dress code that are differentthan the user defaults.

FIG. 19 is an exemplary demonstration of how the fashion products aredisplayed for the users to browse. These products can be sorted/searchedby dress code, season, brand, fit, style etc.

FIG. 20 is an exemplary demonstration of a user wish list which is ableto be maintained and shared with the other users of the site.

FIG. 21 is a depiction of an exemplary product detail page displayinginformation about a product and providing options to the user to buy itfrom the site, direct to another site, add to the wardrobe/wish listand/or suggest the product to another user.

FIG. 22 is a depiction of an exemplary way to maintain productcategories for one or more products.

FIG. 23 depicts an exemplary way in which a product is added to aproduct table for suggestion to the users.

FIG. 24 depicts an exemplary way in which products are matched toweather variables, dress codes and gender and an exemplary way foradministrators to maintain product related information.

FIG. 25 depicts an exemplary webpage which demonstrates how anadministrator of the site can add/update a product on the website.

FIG. 26 depicts an exemplary webpage which demonstrates how a user cancreate and maintain an event on the website.

FIG. 27 depicts an exemplary event detail page and way in which a usercan add/update what they are wearing to an event and see what others arewearing to the event.

FIG. 28 depicts an exemplary event display for the user by date whereuser can search and select the event and go to an event detail page asdepicted in FIG. 21.

FIG. 29 depicts an exemplary way in which a user can add/update productson the site.

FIG. 30 depicts an exemplary mobile application process.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

In the following detailed description of embodiments of the invention,numerous specific details are set forth in order to provide a thoroughunderstanding of the embodiment of invention. However, it will beobvious to a person skilled in art that the embodiments of invention maybe practiced with or without these specific details. In other instancesmethods, procedures and components known to persons of ordinary skill inthe art have not been described in details so as not to unnecessarilyobscure aspects of the embodiments of the invention.

Furthermore, it will be clear that the invention is not limited to theseembodiments only. Numerous modifications, changes, variations,substitutions and equivalents will be apparent to those skilled in theart, without parting from the spirit and scope of the invention.

Subject to the following definitions, a detailed description of thepresent invention and its embodiments is set forth herein. Users aredefined as people who are members of the website and/or use itsservices. Customers are defined as companies and department stores thatmanufacture and/or retail clothing and other fashion accessories such asMacys, Kenneth Cole, and The Gap.

In a preferred embodiment, fashion product suggestions are provided tothe user based on gender, weather, dress code and other criteriadescribed herein. The suggestions are sent to users using various formsof communication such as cell-phone SMS, email, magazine, web browser,multimedia feeds, mobile applications, and TV feeds. These suggestionsare generated from one or more of a pre-defined Suggestion Algorithm,other users within the network (of a user) and fashion consultants. Thesoftware implementing the algorithm is based on weather variables,product variables and other variables described hereinbelow. Weather isdefined by temperature, humidity, precipitation and other weatherparameters. Products variable is defined by type, layers, color,material, thickness, style, textile pattern and other clothingparameters. The weather variables are available from many web sites andservices, these services will be used to determine the current weather.As weather variables will change constantly, for example, a fashionproduct's temperature variable is defined using a temperature range(high-low). If the temperature for that day is within the range of thetemperature defined for the product, then product would be suggested ifit meets the other criteria (for example event, dress code).

Preferably the Suggestion Algorithm is based on a suggestion matrix, forexample as depicted in FIG. 1, that tells the system “what to suggest”based on selection criteria. Based on the list of products to suggest,the algorithm selects the products from the stored product table. Thelist of products is then further reduced by removing the insignificantproduct that does not match the user's selection criteria.

Preferably, the Suggestion Algorithm (FIG. 5) utilizes the parametersfrom FIG. 1-4 to determine the product to be suggested from the producttable. The product table contains fashion product that may or may notrelate to the user preference. Suggestion algorithm determines theproduct to be suggested by selecting relevant products and thenrepeatedly removing the less significant products from the list toarrive at a product to be suggested. This process is repeated until allcategories of the product to be suggested are exhausted. The drawings ofsome of the Latest tables are provided herein and the invention allowsfor the use of many latest tables. Brand Table provides the mostfavorite brand by giving each brand in a table a Stock ID.

In one embodiment, fashion products are related to weather variableslike temperature, rain/snow (precipitation). In further embodimentsfashion products are related to variables for gender and dress code likemale, female, business casual, business formal, wedding, sports, schoolwear, season (e.g. Spring, Fall, Winter or Summer) or any other dresscode category which may be established within the system. Therelationship between the fashion products and variables is created byeither a manual or automatic process, or a combination of both. Thisrelationship is utilized to suggest product to user based on thevariables. For example, depending on a user input of gender, zip codeand default dress code, the invention gets the weather in the zip codeusing, for example, a third party weather service and suggests fashionproducts relevant for the weather, dress code and gender to the user.Preferably, the zip code that is provided by the user is utilized as aninput and the site then uploads weather data using a third party weatherdata provider and the provided zip code. The default zip code for theuser is stored in the user profile on the website.

In a further embodiment, a system for getting suggestions at a pre-settime on a periodic basis is provided. The user creates a profile on thewebsite and stores his/her gender, default dress code and zip code (orother geographic information) of the location. The user further sets thetime he/she would like to receive suggestion. The suggestion algorithmthen suggests products that matches with user's defaults and sends themvia email or SMS or to a web application where they can be retrieved bythe user. These communication channels can be expanded to getsuggestions on a mobile device by utilizing a mobile application or bysimply checking email or messages with the mobile device.

In yet another embodiment a mechanism for further characterizing thefashion products so that the products can be targeted to be worn for thecondition and purpose they were designed and created for is provided. Asuggestion matrix that is a collection of records in a table is utilizedby the algorithm to let the system know what to suggest. For example,each gender and dress code lists a single or multiple item categories tobe suggested. Further, when the algorithm resolves the product(s) to besuggested, it looks at product attributes and if they match with theuser input and weather, those product(s) are suggested to the user.

In embodiments of the present invention, the relationship betweenfashion products and the missing attributes like when the product can beused, what the product is designed for and what gender are provided.Also provided are updated or the latest tables that contain what islatest fit, style, color, material, type etc. (i.e. latest fashion),that is being currently used by fashion designers as latest fashion. Theproduct to be suggested is matched up against the list of latest fashionand if the product attribute matches the latest fashion, it is suggestedto the user. For example, the latest fashion is provided in the form ofLatest tables (FIG. 2, FIG. 3 and FIG. 4). Exemplary tables are LatestColor, Latest Fit, Latest Material, Latest Style etc. These tables areused by an algorithm to determine if the product is currently infashion. The latest tables are maintain by administrators of the websiteand are based on latest fashion trends.

In still another embodiment, and in reference to FIG. 16, users maymaintain their wardrobe online. The images of the products are uploadedby the user and placed in a proper category. The user has the ability toadd/delete or update single or multiple products at a time in thewardrobe. The online wardrobe products are related to the gender,weather variables and dress code, based on user input and are suggestedalong with latest product. The online wardrobe can be made visible touser's friends on the website and allow friends to comment, allowinguser to get friend suggestions on what to wear from the wardrobe. Forexample, a user's friends may send suggestions from the wardrobe andproducts on the website to the user as shown in FIG. 21.

In another embodiment, users may create events and receive suggestionsfor products that they should wear to the event. The users can thenupload clothes from their wardrobe that they are planning on wearing tothe event. Referring now to FIG. 26, a user provides location, date anddress code for the event and receives suggestions on what to wear. Auser may add what they will be wearing to the event and upload picturesof the event (FIG. 27). Users may invite others (either current orprospective users of the website) to the event. Users are able to entercomments for the event and browse events by date (FIG. 28).

In still another embodiment, users may build their friend circle byinviting other users of the site, or even nonusers who may then join thesite, to be connected to their profile and view their suggestions,events and wardrobe. Still further, a user has the ability to keep apersonal assistant and/or a personal shopper, allowing that shopper orassistant to work remotely. A user may simply add a personal assistantto his or her friends list, who has visibility to user wardrobe. Theassistance than can pick the outfit for the user and send thesuggestion.

Still further, and referring now to FIG. 30, in a preferred embodimentmobile functionality is provided by enabling a user of a mobile deviceto take a photo from the device and share it with friends to uploadtheir looks, outfit or a fashion product that they would like to share.

Embodiments of the invention further allow a data collection mechanismto determine the user location, types of fashion products a user likes,user's favorite brands and products in user's wish list. For example, auser may also appoint a personal shopper, provided for example, throughthe site, who buys items in the wish list. The collected data may alsobe used by fashion companies for targeted marketing and advertisers canadvertise products that are tailored for a user's profile. Stillfurther, a base is provided for new and upcoming designers to showcase,advertise and sell their creation without creating and maintaining thewebsite on their own. Preferably a consolidated view of products offeredby multiple customers to our users based on current necessities isprovided. Users no longer have to go to multiple websites to select anitem of purchase. This is possible as the website provides usersmultiple brands of clothes on the same page based on the user's profileand thus tailored to their desires and/or the site's suggestions. Thisprovides users with an advantage of more choices for their money and atthe same time fashion ideas.

Referring now to FIG. 14, embodiments of the invention provide an answerto basic questions like: what to wear? what do my friends think about myoutfit?, what is latest fashion?, what should I wear from my wardrobe?,and what would my friends like me to wear?. Users receive suggestionsfrom the latest fashion, suggestions from friends and suggestion fromwardrobe to make the decision on what to wear very easy. The suggestions(FIG. 14) assist user to formulate an outfit.

In another embodiment a platform for buying, selling and exchangingfashion products is provided. A user may choose to sell or exchange aproduct from their wardrobe. A designer may choose to characterize theircollection to be suggested and sold.

Still further, embodiments of the present invention provide extensivebrowse functionality where a user is able to search the catalog usingmultiple search criteria. Browse page (FIG. 19) has the ability to allowviewing of product details, add an item to the wardrobe, suggest it tofriends and also look at product popularity by looking at the statisticsof the product. Users have ability to go to a vendor website for furtherdetails or to buy a product. Users will also be able to buy product fromthe website itself Preferably, users can search using Categories ofproduct, Gender, Style, Fit, Color, Type, Material, Dress Code, Season,Product Listing.

1. A method comprising: (a) inputting selection criteria related to aclothing or accessory product, (b) inputting selection criteria relatedto geographic location, (c) processing the inputs of steps a and b toproduce a score, (d) selecting a clothing or accessory product basedupon the score and (e) displaying the clothing or accessory product. 2.The method of claim 1 wherein the selection criteria related togeographic location is selected from the group consisting of variablesfor temperature range, wind, humidity and precipitation.
 3. The methodof claim 1 wherein the selection criteria related to a clothing oraccessory product comprises variables for one or more dress codes. 4.The method of claim 1 wherein the amount of time it takes a user todecide upon an outfit is reduced.
 5. The method of claim 1 whereinselection criteria related to a clothing or accessory product comprisesvariables relating to an individual's fashion preferences.
 6. A methodcomprising: (a) uploading a user's wardrobe to a social networkingwebsite (b) displaying said user's wardrobe to a social network composedof members (c) receiving feedback from said social network.
 7. Themethod of claim 6 wherein the feedback is based upon an event associatedwith the user's wardrobe.
 9. The method of claim 7 wherein the socialnetwork shares items selected from each user's wardrobe with othermembers of the social network.
 10. The method of claim 6 wherein auser's wardrobe comprises items which may be offered for sale or tradeon a social networking website.
 11. A system comprising: (a) a databasewhich stores fashion items and associated selection criteria (b) a userinterface which accepts user input selection criteria (c) a firstsoftware module which uses user input selection criteria to obtainweather data for a geographic location (d) a second software modulewhich processes user input selection criteria and weather data togenerate a series of scores (d) a third software module which selects afashion item based upon the series of scores, and (e) a display devicewhich displays the fashion item.
 12. A system comprising: (a) a databasewhich stores user wardrobes (b) a first software module which displays auser wardrobe to a social network (c) a second software module whichadds variables to fashion items within a user wardrobe (d) a thirdsoftware module which receives and displays feedback from the socialnetwork wherein said feedback is appended to fashion items present in auser wardrobe.
 13. The system of claim 12 wherein the variable addedcomprises an event where the fashion item is proposed to be worn. 14.The system of claim 12 wherein the variable added comprises an offer tosell or trade the fashion item.